Toy Story 3 on 360/PS3/Wii celebrates the franchise as much as offering a film tie-in experience. The Toybox mode is perhaps the most impressive element and creates an open world in which to play and create your own adventures.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game on the 360/PS3/Wii has at its centre a platform game where you can play as Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, or Jessie - each with their own special abilities. Woody for instance can use his pull string to Tarzan-swing across gaps, Buzz can throw objects long distances, and Jessie has more agility.

Each character needs to be used at different times to progress, and a split screen mode enables you to work co-operatively to solve the platforming conundrums.

In the Story mode you work through nine themed levels that follow the events of the movie. But alongside this the game also takes in locations and scenes from the previous films. The video gaming opening sequence from Toy Story 2 for instance works well.

That is all as you would expect. But in Toybox mode there is quite a surprise - you can use objects and characters found in the Story mode and create your own levels. As you explore the sandbox world - and here we find more locations from the older films - you earn money and objects to expand your creations that also take in characters from other Disney/Pixar franchises.

Perhaps most impressive is that the Wii version retains all the features of the next generation 360 and PS3 consoles. (The game is also available on Nintendo DS and PSP). Some versions of the game have their own exclusive content - the PS3 version for instance lets you play as Emperor Zurg - complete with his own missions. But either way each offers the renter plenty to keep them entertained whatever their gaming taste – open world, platforming, racing or shooting.

The ability to create your own levels in the Toy Box mode is very impressive. This takes the level creation ethos of games like the PS3’s Little Big Planet and DS’s WarioWare DIY and puts them in the hands of a much wider audience. There is plenty of room for creativity that a lot of cheaper Xbox 360 and PS3 movie tie in games simply don’t provide.

The Toy Story brand is of course another big reason to play. Many of us have grown up watching the films, or with our offspring slowly discovering them. The game, like the films, offers that same Pixar experience that takes something cold and computer generated and injects humanity and life into it. Quite simply it’s that animated magic you won’t find anywhere else - more than the special features and modes of the game that make this a must rent title.

Considering how derivative many movie tie-ins are, and how they miss both the family and more hardcore market, it is refreshing to see a game that gets so much right. The combination of a strong two-player story alongside the sandbox creation on 360/PS3/Wii is one that offers both rental and purchasing value to gamers of any age.

Score: 9/10 – A strong game to match an excellent film. Rent it to experience the story back home.

Format: Available to rent or buy from Boomerang on 360, PS3, Wii as well as DS and PSP.

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Topics: PSP, PS3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 |

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